A CONGESTION busting scheme allowing drivers to use the hard shoulder will be trialed on an 11-mile strech of Birmingham's gridlocked motorway network.

A CONGESTION busting scheme allowing drivers to use the hard shoulder will be trialed on an 11-mile strech of Birmingham's gridlocked motorway network.

Drivers on the M42 between junctions 3A and 7, between Solihull and Birmingham International, will be asked to use the hard shoulder at peak times under the pilot scheme.

When the hard shoulder is open speed limits in all lanes will be cut to 50mph.

The Highways Agency has come up with the scheme as a cheap alternative to widening Britain's busiest motorways. A spokesman said: "Motorway widening is very expensive and bad for the environment. This is a trial looking at how we can make the best use of the space we already have available."

The M42 scheme is costing #100m, compared with the #500m it would have cost to widen the motorway, he said.

If successful the trial will be extended to other congested motorways.

Signals on gantries will allow operators to open and close individual lanes in an instant - to warn drivers to switch lanes due to accidents ahead.

New lay-bys will also be set up to allow those experiencing car trouble to pull over.

But the AA Motoring Trust today warned that the scheme could confuse drivers.

Head of road safety policy Paul Watters said: "We are concerned that drivers will develop the habit of using the hard shoulder and fail to notice when it is closed. They may then crash into a vehicle which has been unable to reach a refuge."

The Freight Transport Association welcomed the move and called for hard shoulders on all of the most congested motorways to be opened up.